2014-15 Round 11

Quarryfest Deslotmania - Quarry Heights Raceway - Waukesha, WI

February 19, 2015

Round 11 of 15

2015 Quarryfest Deslotmania

Margetta Wins! Doesn't Notice

Wauwatosa, WI - Dan Margetta drove to his first IndySlotCar Series win of the 2014-15 season, besting a spirited challenge from Ev Kamikawa to score the win in the Quarryfest Deslotmania, at Quarry Heights Raceway.

Fortunately for Margetta and his Burgetta Racing Team, there are no league rules regarding distracted driving. Margetta, a recovering fendered racing series fan, spent the entire evening with one eye glued to his phone and its coverage of racing of a different variety.

“What? I won?” asked a bewildered Margetta after crossing first under the checkered flag.

De-slot rules for the IndySlotCar Series only allow the driver two times out of the slot in heat race action and only three out of slot ventures in the feature. The tight rules have polarized both fans and drivers of the iconic series, and have made for many short nights of racing. While the feature went the advertised distance, only Margetta and Kamikawa finished.

Feature action saw Target Fitz-Ganassi driver Mike Kristof, making his second finale of the season, exit after just 182 circuits. Kristof led early, but got rattled after a poor second half pit stop and a quick flurry of off’s. Defending race winner, Matt Hayek, only went four circuits more than Kristof to nail down the final rung on the podium.

In spite of his less than concentrated effort, Kamikawa could do nothing with Margetta.

Earlier in the night, Out of the Box Racing’s Dean Strom blistered the competition, en route to his league-leading, fourth pole of the season.

In heat race competition, however, Strom fell victim to the de-slot rules and was scored eighth in the final run down.

Margetta, Kristof and Kamikawa were heat race winners.

John Wiedemann came up short of a transfer spot in the first heat and settled for a fifth place showing. Tom Spehert, making just his second IndySlotCar Series start of the season came home sixth in the final run down. The winner’s teammate, Amy Butler, scored a seventh place run. (editors note: It surprised no one that Butler showed up for the race, after it was announced that Latin heart throb Sergio would be in attendance. Butler’s poor showing seemed to coincide with her distraction and infatuation with the mustached macho Latin lover). Mike Fitzlaff qualified fourth, but made a quick exit in heat race action, another victim of the event’s de-slot format.

Defending champion, and current championship point lead Mike Lack was absent from the event. Word in the Paddock was that Lack’s wife made him take her to see the hit movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, but even that seems to serve as a cover story for Lack's continued financial difficulties, the Lack-Wiedemann Motorsports driver has yet to pay his league fees. Lack’s absence allowed Kamikawa to pull within 20 points of the leader, with just four races left on the 2014-15 calendar.

Wauwatosa, WI -- Matt Hayek scored a popular win, Thursday night, in the IndySlotCar Series' Quarryfest Deslotmania presented by Hayek’s Shorewood Pharmacy-setting fast qualifying time and driving away from the field in the 20 minute finale.

Championship point leader Mike Lack and Cha-Ching Motorsports driver Dan Margetta drove to heat race wins while Hayek and his teammate Mike Kristof earned transfer spots as a result of second place showings in their respective heats.

Kristof set a torrid early pace in the finale and led JMM Racing’s Lack at the half way point. At the break, Kristof’s hands were shaking, sweat pouring off his brow and his voice quivering as he was heard to mutter, “I need a drink”. Once the race resumed, Kristof was the first driver down pit road. Rust showed through for the Dungeons & Dragon Racing crew laying down mistake after mistake enroute to a 30-second stop. The frustration followed as Kristof sped off of pit road—a mistake that all but wiped out any chance of victory.

But things got even worse for Lack as he entered the pit area, smoke pouring from his Dallara-Honda, the victim of yet another death-card.

Dan Margetta, in his ninth straight final, was the next driver to fall. Under IndySlotCar Series de-slot race rules, drivers are eliminated from competition after their fourth de-slot (the cars pin coming out if the slot). Margetta suffered his fatal de-slot with minutes to go and left just teammates Hayek and Kristof to battle for the win. But the D&D Racing crew serviced Hayek much better on his stop, setting up the teams lead driver with a margin that he’d never relinquish.

After Hayek crossed the stripe, fans poured onto the front stretch and mobbed the victorious driver, carrying both him and his Dallara-Chevrolet to victory lane, where the party roared on until the sun began to rise.

“This is the kind of night that we knew this team was capable of,” said Hayek. “In fact we had another driver and sponsor watching tonight and I think we’ll have an announcement real soon about adding that driver to the mix.”

John Wiedemann; Dean Strom; Mike Fitzlaff and Ev Kamikawa all DNFed in heat race action and were scored fifth through eighth in the final run down.

For winning from the pole, Hayek took home an additional $8000 in IndySlotCar Series pole-to-win cash.

With four races remaining on the 2013-14 IndySlotCar slate, Lack continues to hold a 79-point bulge in the championship standings. With his third place showing, Margetta moved into the runner-up spot in the standings—a spot the veteran driver is all too familiar with. Hayek passed Strom to move into fourth position while Kristof leapfrogged over Kamikawa into the sixth position.

QUARRYFEST DESLOTMANIA HISTORY (2 events, 2013 - Present)

DateRace Winner

1/30/2013 Mark Walczak

2/13/2014 Matt Hayek

Top Stories

--With just five races left in the season, Mike Lack’s championship points lead, continues to look insurmountable, John Wiedemann and Ev Kamikawa trail by 58 and 61 points respectively, will need to finish ahead of the defending champion and look forward to the two double points races that remain on the schedule, the Stardust 500 and the HO Indy 500.

Who’s Hot

--Mike Fitzlaff is coming off a climb of the podium with a third, second and a win in his last three starts.

Stats Watch

--Mike Kristof’s second pole of the season at the Deckertring, moves him into a tie for twelfth all-time with John Wiedemann with nine.

--John Wiedemann and Dean Strom both collected enough laps at the Deckertring to pass the track’s builder, John Shea, for all time laps, with Wiedemann moving to 14th with 18,992 and Strom to 15th with 18,969.

--Amy Butler becomes the driver with the 12th most starts in series history with 119, moving ahead of Dave Austin’s 118.

--Matt Hayek equaled Tony Perkins’ career start total with 102, they are tied for 17th all-time.

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